The plan for the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridge presented to Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III last week. (Photo by Perla Lena)
ILOILO CITY -- A team composed of around 10 engineers from China visited Iloilo City Hall and presented the plan for the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge last week.
Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III, in a follow up interview Wednesday, did not disclose the names of the engineers and the firm they represent but he said they belong to the group of contractors who worked on the 55-kilometer Hong Kong to Macau Bridge.
“It will be a grant-in-aid project and the government will not be spending any amount on it,” he said in an interview.
They plan to place the project either in Loboc in Iloilo City’s Lapuz district and Leganes but opted to choose the latter. The mayor was informed that the project might obstruct the International Port in Loboc.
The 16-kilometer bridge project will stretch from Iloilo to Negros Occidental. From Iloilo to Guimaras, the bridge covers some four kilometers while 12 kilometers from Guimaras to Negros Occidental. The team also plans to extend the bridge up to Cebu, which is only eight kilometers.
“They (engineers) are now constructing two bridges in Manila,” he said.
Apart from the bridge connecting the Western Visayas islands, the same team will also be constructing a bridge from Batangas to Mindoro.
The mayor added while the project is yet to undergo a feasibility study, he is optimistic that it will be realized.
Apart from the bridge connecting the Western Visayas islands, the same team will also be constructing a bridge from Batangas to Mindoro.
“If that happens, there will come a time that from Iloilo will just have to drive our vehicle in going to these places. Mindoro to Batangas is about eight to 10 kilometers and they said they are capable of doing that,” he added.
The conduct of feasibility studies for government’s priority bridge projects was part of the agreements signed between the Philippines and China during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Infrastructure Cooperation Program between the Philippines and China would encourage enterprises in both countries to participate in key infrastructure projects involving railway, transportation, telecommunications and roads and bridges in the Philippines.
For bridge projects, the agreement seeks for the conduct of feasibility studies for priority projects to include the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island bridge and the Negros-Cebu link bridge. (PNA)
